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The Great Purge
"They're idiots if they ever think Humanity forgot what they did to us" - Emperor Justinian II The Great Purge was a galaxy-wide war that occured during the twenty-fourth century. The war began when the majority of Prey factions within the Council of Species suddenly began to massacre their opposing Predator constituents on the Sanctum and across Council space. The death toll is estimated to be somewhere in the trillions, making this the most devastating conflict in history. The result of this conflict was the extinction of dozens of predator species within the Council and formations of the Predator Alliance and the Imperial Dominion of Man. Repurcussions of this conflict are still felt in modern times, with many predator species strongly distrusting their prey alternates and vice versa. Background The Council had been established some three-thousand years before the Purge and had begun its expansionist stage almost three-hundred years prior in approximately the 2090s. It was during this time that they had begun to allow Predator species into the organisation with the goal of lowering their threat levels to the Council and its citizens. One such addition to the Council was Humanity who, at the time, had only recently begun to colonize their nearest stellar neighbours. Despite being a relatively minor and primative race, Humanity quickly ascended the ranks within the Council to become the dominant military authority. It was this natural instinct for war that led many member species, specifically the Toyran, to become hostile towards Humanity and declare them to be the worst of the Predators, despite their status as Omnivores. Tensions had been growing since the inclusion of the Predator species however, and Humanity can only really be considered to be the last straw in what was already an extremely controversial issue within Council space. The Toyran and the Rounar, for example, had engaged in conflict over an overlapping area of territory within their borders, which saw thousands dead. Opening Hostilies The first conflict began on the Sanctum itself. In just one night, the representatives for the Predators among the Council were attacked and killed with little warning and thousands were imprisoned. The following day the Prey faction within the Council announced the end of Predator influence and the united movement to wipe them from the galaxy, which they demonstrated by mass-executing all those that they had captured the night before. Almost all Predator factions were quick to respond, launching invasions into Prey space across the Milky Way. However, Humanity alone put forth a motion for all Predator species to combine into one force to survive. Led by Ezra I of the United Nations of Earth, Humanity came together under one banner to form the Imperial Dominion of Man on the 2nd January 2359. The other species were dismissive, preferring to fight for themselves. The Prey Faction's overwhelming numerical majority proved to force many species into retreat and it was only months after the opening of the conflict that the Council began to push back into Predator space on almost every front; with the only exceptions being Humanity, the Rounar and Deruna. The Purge Begins The Prey Factions began to mercilessly purge every world that they encountered within Predator space. By 2364, they had driven thirteen of the twenty Predator species to extinction. As more Predator species fell, more Prey forces became available to the more problematic fronts. Feeling the intense pressure, Humanity once again called out for the unity of Predator species and was this time heard by the Rounar, Deruna and a number of other species, coming together to form the Predator Alliance. After much discussion on leadership and responsability, it was ultimately decided that Humanity would take the lead and the alliance was finally established on 4th December 2369. During this time, more species fell to the Prey onslaught. But Humanity had begun to push into Council space with unrelenting force, getting closer to their Toyran nemesises. The Stalemate The newly formed Predator Alliance began to fight the Council to a standstill on many fronts with their coordinated efforts, with many worlds caught in the middle decimated and taken and lost multiple times in months. During this time, many assassination attempts were made on leadership figures on both sides, with Ezra I only barely surviving an attempt during his crusade to Polera in 2371 A.D. It was becoming clear, however, that the Predator Alliance was by far the superior fighting force. Despite territory changes becoming almost static, their losses were far less than the Council's who was losing on average twenty ships for every one of the Predator's. The leadership in the Council began to realise this and took increasingly desperate measures to try and push through. Their prime targets were Earth and Human space, which had begun to expand exponentially as they conquered more and more planets from their foes. The End of the Conflict After almost five years of stalemate, Humanity finally broke through the Toyran front during the battle of Gromen and began to lay seige to Junol, the Toyran homeworld. The Toyran, who were extremely influential in the Council, set about trying to make peace and an armistice was declared between the Predator Alliance and the Council on the 31st January 2374. Aftermath The Toyran lost approximately eight systems to Humanity during the Great Purge and this is widely credited for beginning the Imperial Dominion of Man's hunger that has led to it expanding to its current scale. The Dominion came out of the conflict as the dominant military power in the Milky Way, doubling the destructive potential of its next four competitors combined. To this day, the Purge is used as an excuse for the Dominion's increasingly xenophobic political platform and relations have never been friendly with the Council again. The Predator Alliance would cease to function as political entity after the conflict, as the remaining species regained control over their own forces and worlds. Of the original twenty Predator species in the Council before the conflict, only four remained: Humanity, the Rounar, Deruna and the Kaelaed Union. All four have since been subjected to heavy economic sanctions on a routine basis from the Council and, with the exception of Humanity, have remained a minor player in galactic politics as a result. There have been a number of conflicts between Predator and Prey factions in the centuries since, but none have escalated to the extent of a full inter-species war. Factions within the Council have tried multiple times since the conflict to reignite it, but with the Dominion becoming increasingly powerful in the Milky way and along with its remaining alliances, the leadership has refused to declare war again. Some in Council space fear that Humanity is biding its time and building its power until it can declare war once again in revenge, and as a result a Cold War has been brewing for centuries.